評(píng)論
打印
字號(hào):
雄性的造園鳥因他們精心設(shè)計(jì)周遭環(huán)境而聞名于世。如今，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，精心布置環(huán)境的一個(gè)目的在于使鳥“變得”大一點(diǎn)。Karen Hopkin報(bào)道
The first time you visit your boyfriend’s place, he no doubt tidies up, to give you the illusion that he doesn’t live like an animal. Well, animals, too, can use optical illusions to woo a mate. Take the bowerbird.
你第一次去男朋友的家里，他勢(shì)必會(huì)打掃干凈，這會(huì)給你一個(gè)假象，他沒有像個(gè)動(dòng)物一樣住著。是的，動(dòng)物也是如此，用視覺假象來求婚。以造園鳥舉例。
Male bowerbirds build elaborate shelters to try to attract a female. They decorate these bachelor pads with shells, bones and pebbles, and even lay a pathway of sticks along which the female can walk to get the best view. But that path provides more than just a welcome mat. It allows the male bird to set the stage so that the décor will accentuate—even exaggerate—his size, a typical sign of good genes.
雄性造園鳥精心筑巢就是為了吸引雌性。這些單身漢們用果殼、骨頭、卵石把自己墊高，裝飾自己。甚至用枯枝鋪一條小路，讓雌造園鳥走過來好好參觀。但這條路不僅僅只是作為歡迎的地毯。同時(shí)也可以是雄造園鳥的舞臺(tái)，使得周遭布置能夠突出裝飾——甚至能讓他看上去更大——大小是雄造園鳥優(yōu)秀基因的典型標(biāo)志。
See, male bowerbirds line their courtyards with objects arranged from smallest to largest. Viewed from the walkway, this layout makes the court seem smaller and the bird sitting at its center look larger. When scientists went in and reversed the gradient, the male bowerbirds restored it within days, results published in the journal Current Biology.
看看，雄造園鳥布置庭院的東西，從最小的到最大的都準(zhǔn)備了。從通道上看去，這種布局是比庭院看上去更小，而造園鳥坐在中間則顯得更大。當(dāng)科學(xué)家們進(jìn)去，改變了路的坡度，雄造園鳥幾天內(nèi)又把它改正回來。研究結(jié)果刊登在《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》雜志上。
Of course, the females may be on to the trick. And rather than being fooled about size, a female may be selecting a male based on how clever he is to make himself look so swell. Or so swelled.
當(dāng)然，雌造園鳥或許會(huì)中計(jì)。但雌造園鳥與其被尺寸所蒙騙，不如在挑選“郎君”時(shí)立足于他是多么聰明的使自己看上去如此強(qiáng)壯。或者就是這么的高大。
收藏
